News Wire Early Exit for Federer

MASON, Ohio Andy Murray's 7-5, 6-4 victory on Wednesday in the second round of the Western &amp;amp;amp; Southern Financial Group Masters ended Roger Federer's 55-match winning streak in North America and provided his earliest tournament exit in two years.</p>
<p>The streak included two U.S. Open titles that helped stamp Federer as one of the sport's all-time best players.</p>
<p>"The streaks? I don't care about those now that they're over," said Federer, who hadn't lost in straight sets in his last 194 matches. "It's going to be a relief for everybody, and now we can move on."</p>
<p>He had a premonition that the streak might end there as well.</p>
<p>He beat Richard Gasquet in three sets on Sunday to win a Masters Series title in Toronto, then had only one day to travel, sneak in a little practice and get ready to resume the grind. He thought there was a good chance he'd get knocked out early.</p>
<p>"Two Masters series back-to-back — 12 matches in 13 days — it's something of the impossible," he said.</p>
<p>The loss left Federer 62-5 this year and ended his bid to match one of the sport's enduring marks. He had reached the final of his last 17 tournaments since June 2005, one shy of matching Ivan Lendl's Open era record of 18 straight such finishes since 1981-82.</p>
<p>Murray, a 19-year-old British player, has won 18 of his last 23 matches. He made it to the semifinals at Toronto, and his ranking was a career-best 21 heading into the Cincinnati tournament.</p>
<p>Also: Kim Clijsters retired with a wrist injury in a second-round match against Canadian Stephanie Dubois on Wednesday night at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. ... Two-time champion Serena Williams and former top 10 players Chanda Rubin and Alicia Molik were among eight women granted wild cards Wednesday for the U.S. Open. </p>
<p>BASKETBALL</p>
<p>Coach K Cuts Bowen</p>
<p>SEOUL, South Korea Bruce Bowen was the final player cut from the U.S. basketball team, which begins play in the World Championships in Japan on Saturday.</p>
<p>The final 12-man roster was announced Wednesday by USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski, and included Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Kirk Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade.</p>
<p>Bowen scored just four points while playing four of the five tuneup games and had been outplayed by Battier, another defensive-minded small forward who made the cut. The average age of the 12 U.S. players is 2412 years old, with the 30-year-old Miller the oldest member of the team. Howard, at 20, is the youngest.</p>
<p>Also: Ron Artest, talking to children as part of his community service sentence, defended his actions in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history. "Someone started trouble and I ended it," Artest told about 50 children Wednesday at a panel on black empowerment at the Judge Mathis Community Center. "I would always encourage you to protect yourself but in certain situations, if you can avoid them, avoid them." ... Former NBA player Lonny Baxter was arrested by uniformed Secret Service agents on Wednesday after shots were fired from his vehicle about two blocks from the White House. Baxter, who helped Maryland win a national championship and played with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, was ordered held without bail. </p>
<p>SOCCER</p>
<p>Croatian Fans Form Swastika</p>
<p>LIVORNO, Italy A small group of Croatian fans formed a human swastika midway through an exhibition game with Italy on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Sitting on one end of Livorno's Armando Picchi stadium in a section walled off from Italian fans by large barriers, about 200 Croatian supporters arranged themselves into the Nazi symbol about 30 minutes into Croatia's 2-0 win.</p>
<p>Livorno is known as a left-wing town and the Croatian fans were apparently trying to incite the home fans. Police eventually moved in, forcing the fans to stop.</p>
<p>COLLEGES</p>
<p>Air Force Assistant Suspended</p>
<p>AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. Air Force offensive line coach Pete Hurt has been suspended indefinitely after he allegedly struck a player during football practice last week.</p>
<p>Athletic director Hans Mueh suspended Hurt with pay on Wednesday and launched an investigation.</p>
<p>Also: Former NBA player and coach Jerry Sichting, 49, was hired by Marquette on Wednesday as an assistant coach.</p>
<p>Boxing</p>
<p>Mayweather to Fight Baldomir</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS</p>
<p>Floyd Mayweather Jr. (36-0, 24 KOs), generally considered the world's best pound-for-pound boxer, will fight Carlos Baldomir (43-9-6) for the WBC welterweight title Nov. 4 in Las Vegas. The fight will be held at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on a pay-per-view broadcast by HBO.</p>
<p>Cycling</p>
<p>Landis' Relative Dies</p>
<p>The father-in-law of embattled Tour de France winner Floyd Landis was found dead in his car after committing suicide, coroner's officials in San Diego said. The body of David Witt, 57, was discovered at a parking garage Tuesday afternoon.</p>
<p>MISCELLANY</p>
<p>Gymnastics: Sasha Artemev threw his trademark pommel horse routine, then withstood a costly fall off the high bar to hang onto the lead Wednesday after a rugged preliminary round at the U.S. men's gymnastics championships at St. Paul, Minn. Artemev, the son of one-time Soviet gymnast Vladimir Artemev, finished with 89.45 points, .05 ahead of Guillermo Alvarez and .25 in front of Jonathan Horton.</p>
<p>Horse Racing: Lost in the Fog, the 4-year-old colt who won the 2005 Eclipse Award as sprinter of the year, has a suspected cancerous growth in his spleen. The horse will undergo an exploratory procedure Friday in Albany, Calif.